Secrets of The Ackermans
by Kano-sama
Summary: "In an filthy, underground castle, sedated and put in a coffin. Do you expect me to have a fucking tea party without knowing where the hell you came from? I have a theory: You are titan shit, unfortunately, they don't shit. They just look constipated. So talk or I'll make you talk." M for Levi's tongue.
1. Underground

Underground

Summary:

"In an filthy, underground castle, sedated and put in a coffin. Do you expect me to have a fucking tea party without knowing where the hell you came from? I have a theory: You are titan shit, unfortunately, they don't shit. They just look constipated. So talk or I'll make you talk." M for Levi's tongue.

"Oi, fucking brats! How many times do I have to drill in your fucking pea-sized brains that half-assed cleanings won't work?" Swiping his freshly laundered chief on the window sill, he then brought it in front of his scrutinizing narrow eyes and clicked his tongue. "Who's the fucker assigned in the window?"

His question was answered by deafening silence.

"…"

1 minute later…

2 minutes…

3 minutes…

"I see. Everyone wants to go to hell…"

"It's Connie and Jean!" From behind Mikasa, Sasha squeaked. "They were in charge in this room," she added, in which she received a warning look from Jean. _I'm not going to be titan feed!_

Out of the corner of his eye he watched the recruits boringly until his eyes fell on Eren's . "Oi, you're sleeping in the dungeon tonight."

"Ehh?" Eren looked at the sadistic captain. "I didn't do anything, did I?" Truth, Eren was in his most 'behave' the whole morning that he was mostly confused on what warrant him such punishment.

"No, he's not sleeping in the dungeon," Mikasa sharply retorted, using her body to shield her surrogate brother from Levi's gaze.

"I won't repeat myself brat. He's going there whether you want it or not," Levi dismissively said, tearing his eyes away from the venomous glares the soldier worth a hundred man was throwing him. "Jean. Connie,"

"Yes!" the two attentively answered, almost in a squeak in unison, eyes fixed straight, particularly looking at nothing, just not to get caught in the captain's glare. Jean swallowed the lump in his throat when the corporal walked towards him, stopping when he was a good ruler apart from his sweating, pale face. He had no choice but to look in his captain's eyes, which if glares can kill he would have been a ten-year old decomposed corpse. The captain and the recruit stayed like that for a couple of minutes until Levi shifted his eyes to Jean's left where Connie was twitching in fear.

"Connie," Levi started, addressing the recruit. "Clean this room again with potato girl. I want everything damn clean when I comeback. Understand?" He finished, looking at Sasha, to which the girl replied with a trembling _'yes sir.'_ "Eren and Jean, clean the dungeons. I don't want it fucking destroyed with your horrible titan power or you'll be titan feed. Prepare your horses, Armin, Mikasa. We're heading out."

Everyone was slightly dumbfounded by the corporal's orders. Usually, Levi would bunch them altogether in one duty, so it came as a real surprise for them that they will be spending the day apart from each other. It was only when they heard the corporal's _booming "MOVE YOUR ASSES, DAMN BRATS!'_ that they actually run for their lives.

' _Damn Erwin. What does he think the Recon Corps is? A fucking nursery?'_ he muttered to himself as soon as everyone was out of sight. Leaning his back on the wall, he glanced at his table where piles and piles of papers were neatly waiting for him. ' _Fuck. It's baby-sitting retarted brats or fucking paper works.'_ He was brooding to himself when he heard a knock and the opening of the door.

"I didn't hear that commanders have the privilege to just barge in inside a corporal's room, like _self-inviting_ to a fucking tea party."

The blonde commander just smiled wryly at him. "We're going,"

"Tche. The brats are preparing their horses. I damn trust your judgment, but I don't see why we have to bring the kids, particularly _them_ ," Levi flatly said, throwing his commander a scrutinizing look.

"Do you need and answer to that, Levi?" Erwin asked, looking straight in his eyes.

"No. I said I trust your judgment," Levi replied, putting a dot on the topic. "Oi, shitty brats, quit fucking around!"

"The horses are ready, sir!" from behind the door Armin's trembling voice was heard. "And we're not eavesdropping, sir!"

"Let's go," Erwin said.

"I love fieldtrips," Levi deadpanned.

 _An hour later…_

"Whoa! What's this?" Armin exclaimed, mouth slightly opened, eyes wandering around the vicinity that looked like their castle headquarter. In front of them stood an old tower covered with vines spiraling up unto the top, leaving only the chipped roofs visible. "Mikasa, what do you think?"

"I think it's called a tower," Levi sarcastically replied, dismounting his horse with ease despite his small frame. "Stupid people built for suicide purposes," he added, ignoring the dirty look Mikasa was throwing at him. Leading the group to a certain spot he was sure was once a fine stable, he tied the reigns and sighed.

"Nah, Levi, don't be like that! This tower is an important part of our history. A living witness perhaps,"

"Yeah, right. It's where fucking idiots choose to jump and die with stupid smiles on their faces," Levi snorted, scanning their surroundings. "So, what's this important package we are going to retrieve? If it's just titan parts for your experiments, then go now and fuck yourself, shitty four eyes."

"Ahh," Hanji Zoe clapped her hands. "That? Actually I was just informed earlier that I'm to assist in retrieving it," she continued, much to Levi's annoyance upon hearing that both of them were clueless.

"Damn that Erwin," he cursed, loosening is cravat a little. Deciding to do a little scouting around, he turned to his other companion and barked, "I don't know what Erwin wants, but we can't keep our guards down. Armin, "he turned to the blond boy, "I trust you to decide for the best whatever happens when I'm not here. Mikasa," he addressed her without looking at her, "do what you need to do and don't mess it up."

"I understand," Mikasa answered timidly.

"Yes, captain." Armin replied.

"Hey, hey, what about me? You're not leaing me behind now, Levi That's rude as broad daylight," Hanji playfully whined, pulling Levi in a half hug, to which he was quick enough to evade.

"You can find a playmate but don't fucking kill my comrades or I'll pull your eyes out," Levi dismissively said, walking away from them towards the tower while pulling a blade. "If you need to kill, kill," he added, disappearing behind the thick bushes.

"Well, you heard him loud and clear, that midget. We can play as long as…"

"I think I'll pass," Mikasa said, making herself comfortable on top of a slab of stone she had found.

' _Looking from the outside this look like an ordinary worn out tower. But no windows. No way up. At the top in as opening as large as a well where light can pass through. The only stair is going down. Not a tower but a god damn underground castle. A fucking filthy underground castle. If Erwin's gonna appear and say that this is the new headquarters of the Recon, then I'm quitting on my job on the spot_ ,' Levi thought as he came across cobwebs dangling loosely on one side of the stairway. Loose cobwebs. _Someone's been here!_ His mind raced in time with his hands tightening their grip on his blades as his footsteps became lighter as he descend deeper and deeper on the spiral staircase until he reached what seemed to be the final landing. There he found himself face to face with a black door where three letters were etched: EVE.


	2. The Package

Disclaimer: I wish I really do, I would love to but unfortunately just like you guys, I don't own anything. Enjoy your holidays!

' _Eve'_ Levi muttered under his breath, hand placed above his nose, the other brushing the air, trying to at least make the air around him a little clean, while his mouth continued its _flowery_ talk. _'The fact that a place like this was built with such details can only mean that a lot of morons fit to be titan feeds have thought that their fucked up brains can come up with such stupidity that building an assed, filthy place like this can be their victory against those damn Titans_. _What a waste of time and resources, those stupid, good for nothing._ 'Then raising his eyes on the huge door in front of him, his brow instinctively twitched as all of his being agreed in making the dark door the perfect definition of the word 'filth.' The clean freak that he was, he pondered for a moment before deciding it best to set aside his fetish and, with utter disgust and annoyance, pulled his cravat and wiped the door. _Stupid people really impress me with their ability to survive in this place without killing themselves accidentally or out of sheer stupidity.'_

"I apologize for the condition of this place," he heard Erwin's voice, followed by heavy footsteps descending down the stairs. He immediately turned his head when he felt there were 'quite footsteps' that he heard, and it was then that he saw a higher-up officer, Dot Pixis behind his commander.

"So, can you now tell me what's with this shit?" he asked, as he shot a glance at Erwin, tapping his knuckles on the name etched on the door. "Or is this another bitchy experiment of shitty glasses?"

"It's good to see you too, Corporal," Dot Pixis wittily said, not caring that the small-framed corporal was seething inside because of the state of the place they are in. A if adding humor to his earlier greeting, Dot Pixis said, "Do you know that if the walls were to be breached again, we can use this place as headquarter, don't you think so, Levi?" Then he laughed, while Erwin just stared at him.

' _I fight. I don't fucking hide'_ he wanted to retaliate but he knew better and stayed quiet. He then saw Dot Pixis stepped towards the door.

"The _'package'_ is just behind this door," Pixis said, pulling something from his military jacket, and Levi's sharp eyes saw a key that he thought he already saw somewhere. "We need to be careful with this," the older man continued as he slipped the key and they heard a sharp click.

' _This isn't the first time nor second time that that door has been unlocked,'_ Levi noticed, as he was expecting the keyhole, although he was aware that whoever left the package for them was the one who first unlock the door, to still be rough on the inside. A blade not used for a long time will surely rust and dull. But the turning of the key alerted him enough.

"It seems an organization protected by the Wallist wants this retrieved so badly as to offer a secret negotiation between us, but I declined," Pixis said, looking at the commander and the corporal. "I trust you already know how grave the situation is."

"No, actually I didn't hear anything about it, just this morning," Levi deadpanned. "And since you're here, I believe it's not Erwin who specifically name those who will come with us. So, why gloomy brat and Armin?"

"Levi," Erwin called addressed him, looking straight for the door, "Not just graduating on top of the class, but after years of training and honing her skills, the time will surely come when she will rival your skills. We cannot ignore such talents."

"And that _honing her talents_ includes strolling down Titan infested hill, wrapped in scarf in the middle of daylight just to get a fucking package? Oi, give me some slack," Levi sarcastically said. "And the boy?"

""You know what I mean," Dot Pixis answered. "They just need polishing and a little educating," he added, looking at him straight in the eyes, right index finger pointing in his own head.

"Yeah, he's blonde, you're bald. Just open the fucking door," Levi sneered. He was not surprised entirely that Dot Pixis saw what his shitty brats are really made of. "Polish my ass. They don't need to be educated. They needed _'training'_."

"Yeah, I leave that up to you, Lance Corporal Levi Ackerman," the older man grinned as he pushed the waiting door open. "Let's see what the Wallists are up to,"

The door creaked open but there were no blinding lights. They scanned the room as Erwin stepped inside followed by Dot Pixis. In the middle of the room was a torch whose fire was slowly dying, and Erwin has to light up another one he suspected was left purposely for them, as he found it just by the fading torch's side. "That's very considerable," Erwin commented.

"And filthy," Levi grimaced, looking at the wall where spider webs are crisscrossing each other. He was about to spout another set of his precious profanities when Dot Pixis called them both.

"Erwin, Levi,"

Both man went to where the older man was and to Erwin's confused look, though he didn't looked confuse at all, and to Levi's frustrations, which he suppressed in a groan, Dot Pixis smiled sinisterly at the sight before them. "Eve,"

They were standing in front of a heavily chained metal coffin, in which the top part of the cover bore a crest.

"We're not discussing anything here. We're opening it," Erwin authoritatively said, "and we're taking what's inside."

"Finally you're brains are no more fucked up, Erwin. I was beginning to think you've been hanging a lot with shitty four eyes," Levi boringly said as without another word, he pulled his blade and aimed at the chains binding the coffin. The sound of thin, sharp metal hitting thick, solid ones filled their ears for mere seconds, as a series of clings from falling chains replace them. Levi motioned Erwin to light his trail of sight and was a little annoyed that his blade was broken. "Damn it," he said, throwing his used blade somewhere.

"It's the first time out blades were used aside from Titans," Dot Pixis said as he pulled the loose chains, freeing the coffin for good. "Though for the same reason; for humanity."

"We don't need people who exaggerate things," Levi irritatedly said, kicking the cover of the coffin. "Now what shit do we have here that those scum Wallists are so…?"

"…"

"Talk about human rights," Erwin stated, looking slightly surprised at the inside of the coffin. Two times as heavily chained as the coffin, a woman dress in a light color Erwin cannot make out what, adorned or stained with dark spots he was sure was blood, if they were really stains, was bound, with blindfolds and muzzle. Casting more light on the body, he saw Levi kneeled and squinted his eyes.

"And I was hoping for a bloody corpse," Levi fatly said, eyes roaming on the woman's chained body. "There are bite-marks on her wrist and fingers,"

"A shifter, perhaps," Erwin answered the most honest, also kneeling and checking the body.

"At least she's not dead. Dead people don't talk," Dot Pixis finally said after seeing the inside of the coffin.

"And Titan's don't shit. Why not just silence her for good? Fucking amateurs," Levi hissed, watching the woman's unsteady breathing.

"We will know the answer when she wakes up," Dot Pixis said, as he pulled his blade and was about to sliced the metal cover, when he stopped in mid-air, smiling foolishly that made Levi want to break his neck. "I forgot how your blade ended up in two, corporal. Ahh, I really am getting old," he said as he sheathed his blade. "For now we need to get back to the headquarters," he added as he pulled out the cover of the coffin he was about to slice foolishly before and began stepping out of the dark room. "Be careful with her, corporal. We need her," they heard him as he vanished from the door.

Levi shot a scathing glance to the man kneeling beside him, who was sporting a poker face. "Oi, Erwin,"

"You heard him," Erwin said in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone, abruptly standing, torch still in his hand.

"Fuck you," Levi cursed as he throw a disgusting look on the chained woman, before lifting the body from the coffin and allowing it to fall on the ground, to which he received a disapproving look from Erwin. "I fuck things my way," he acidly said, taking a hold on the chains crisscrossing the back of the woman, and started dragging her unconscious body out of the room and up through the stairs.

 _Filthy , fucking whore._ Erwin could only watch the utter irritation Levi was showing. _'He really hates filth.'_


	3. The One Responsible

Disclaimer: No. Absolutely no.

"Stop that, you pig!" For the fourth time, Jean caught Sasha attempting to stuff her mouth in one go. "You're like a Titan with that appetite of yours," he added, shaking his head in disbelief that the soldier who has precise aim with a bow and arrow was none other than the girl sitting beside him, greedily munching on her breakfast. He then looked at the silent girl eating in front of him, and he felt his ears heat up. Lowering his head to look at his own food, he quickly muttered a quick "You should at least try to eat like Mikasa."

"Why is that?" Sasha replied, taking a big bite on her bread. "It doesn't matter how you eat. When you are starving all is forgotten." Successfully swallowing her food, she reached for her mug and drank it the contents hurriedly.

"But you're still a girl. At least try to act like one," Jean stated exasperatedly, again glancing at Mikasa. "If you don't do that, then no one will treat you like one," he added with a tone of finality that made Sasha pause in putting food into her mouth.

"Uh, isn't that a bit harsh, Jean?" Eren asked, trying to stop Mikasa from stuffing his own mouth. "Mi…Mikasa, I can eat by myself," he said as he tried to pry away the girl's hand holding the bread.

"The world is harsh, Mr. Suicidal," Jean retorted, annoyed at the display of _affection_ Eren and Mikasa are showing their group. "So at least let potato girl here be a girl so she'll be treated like a girl."

"Say, Jean, how do you treat a girl?" from the corner of the table Connie snickered, playfully stirring his soup. He knew of the former's infatuation on the girl worth a hundred soldiers.

Expectedly, the question made Jean loss for words, as he lowered his head. "Of…of course, it…it…"

"In this world that we are living, we see each other as damn soldiers. Acting according to your sexual identity will only dug your asses a grave or two," from the soldier's dining room Levi's voice echoed, making Eren dropped his spoon on the floor and Jean chocked on his food.

Everyone turned their heads to their approaching captain, and noticed that Levi was kind of pissed off.

"Well," Levi said, eyes resting on Jean. "No matter what your choices are, to a Titan, you're just dead meat. So it's either you prance or survive. What would be your answer, recruit?"

It was a question meant for all of them, so Jean decided not to give an answer. Luckily for them, the corporal has no spare time to torture them, so they sighed in relief when Levi finally disappeared behind the door.

"So, shall I act like a girl?" Sasha asked, still eating, but now, Mikasa's bread.

"Do what you want," Jean resigned. He then turned to his other side and found Armin quietly eating. "Oh, you were here,"

Armin just nodded, and then went back to eating his portion.

"Don't bother yourself, Armin," Mikasa spoke, getting everyone's attention. "That shorty doesn't only have a dirty mouth, he's also not a feminist."

"Feminist?" Historia repeated. "What do you mean, Mikasa?"

"But, but…"

"Armin, stop being weak," Mikasa said, firmly, a statement enough to silence the whole table they were eating at.

Armin just dropped his head as he remembered what transcended the day before.

 _Flashback_

 _Hanji was talking animatedly about her new views about the evolution of the Titans and their 'might be relations' to humans, aside from just being predator and prey when Dot Pixis emerge from the old tower, carrying something that looked like a burnt plank._

" _They're back," Armin exclaimed, moving up from where he was perched._

" _Ahh, I see everything went okay," Hanji said, adjusting his spectacles to have a good look at the thing Dot Pixis was carrying. "Is that some kind of an ornament? My, you have good taste,"_

 _The older man leaned the black metal on the chipped walls, and said, "Yes, I did get the same feeling like you."_

 _Armin could only listen to the conversations of the two when he noticed that what he mistook as a burnt plank was actually the black top of a metal casket. Looking at it closely, he realized that it was the crest on the front that the two officials were talking about. Then he noticed something on the crest that made him ponder, and then they heard Levi spewing curses, dragging something Armin cannot really make out, but was horrified when Levi was only a few meters away from them._

" _So, the star of the day arrives," Levi sarcastically said, pulling the chained woman harshly and throwing it on the wagon Dot Pixis had earlier prepared._

" _Levi, do you know what you just did?!" Hanji incredulously asked. "You threw her!"_

" _Her? And your fucking brains already ruled that 'tha't thing is a mere human? Are your glasses that fucked up? Cause I'm sure even gloomy brat over there can see the bite marks on her wrist and fingers," Levi retorted, slightly looking at Mikasa sitting unperturbed. "Oi, brat, what do you see?"_

" _Two bite marks on her right wrist, one slightly healed, and the other maybe a few days old. On her right index finger two bite marks, each on the first and second knuckle, also looking like a few days old. The other four has one on each end, aging like the rest," Mikasa answered, not tearing her eyes on Levi._

" _You should just be thankful I didn't kill that filth,"_

" _So, you mean she's still alive?" She didn't wait for the irritated corporal's answer as she rushed in the wagon to check the condition of the woman._

" _Tched. Getting excited over some scum," Levi said, walking away._

" _I'm really sorry to waste your time here, Levi," Dot Pixis said behind him._

" _ARMIN, COME HERE! SHE NEEDS IMMEDIATE TREATMENT!"_

 _Armin was brought from his stupor when he heard Hanji. He rushed quickly inside the wagon, and can only stare unbelievably at the state of the woman still bound in chains._

" _That Levi! Sometimes he can really go overboard," Hanji said, talking to herself. "Remove her muzzle, quick."_

" _But… Ms Hanji, what if…?"_

" _Even if she is a shifter, she won't wake up. She's sedated," the female leader said, motioning Armin to look at the woman's arms, where Hanji was now ponting to six identical red, punctured marks._

 _Seeing it with his own eyes, he quickly removed the muzzle to find that her lips were also bitten. He watch the woman as her breathing went to normal, and was relieved that somehow, he can say that her sleeping face now seems peaceful, although her eyes were still in a blindfold._

" _Her body is bruised up, but she will not die. Damn that Levi! Dragging and throwing a defenseless woman," Hanji muttered, attempting to find the end of the chain. "This is pure torture. Beating a woman then sedating her, chaining her unconscious body, how unlucky can she get,"_

" _I think Levi forgot to tell you that she was also put inside a metal coffin, which was also heavily chained like her," from the wagon's rear came Erwin's voice. "What do you think?" he asked as his eyes traveled once again to the sedated woman. With light Erwin could clearly see that the woman had a rather small figure, just like Historia, and not a pale complexion, but rather her color was like that as if she haven't been under the sun for a long time. Her dress shirt was torn in different directions and the uneven prints that was actually dried blood was everywhere, though the most prominent was the part on her stomach._

" _She'll live," Hanji softly said, gently removing her blindfold. "She just needs immediate treatment, and we will give it to her."_

 _Erwin closed his eyes for a while, and after a few seconds, he said, "The Special Operation's Squad will assist you in treating her," to which he received a look of disbelief from Hanji._

" _You also think she's a threat? Erwin, look at her! She's almost dying," Hanji argued, slightly raising her voice. "I will take her. I will be the one responsible in regards…"_

" _Too bad, four eyes. The filthy whore's mine." From the right side of the wagon came Levi's malice-laced voice, riding his horse followed by a gloomy Mikasa. "Fucking baldy left 'that' in my 'care' so go look for your own source of entertainment."_

" _Levi, we need to see to it that any information regarding her retrieval remains confidential," Erwin said, turning his back on the wagon to retrieve his own horse. "Stay in the wagon, Armin. We'll take your horse."_

 _Armin could only re-process the conversations that happened in front of him; from Mikasa's 'lively' attitude to Dot Pixis' creepy smiles, Erwin's collected shots despite not really knowing the condition they were now in, to Hanji Zoe's hysterical arguments,and to Levi's factory of profanities for a mouth. He knows that these people were the ones responsible for every human being inside the Wall in staying alive, but sometimes he wondered what would be his thoughts about them if he didn't join the army and he happen to come across in that manner._

" _Oi, shitty brat, quit fucking around. We're done in here,"_

"Oi, Armin, Armin,"

"…"

"ARMIN!"

It came to him so loud that his body instinctively jerked itself, making him fall on the stool with a thud. Realizing that he had spaced out, he slowly stood up and muttered a silent apology to the person in front of him. "Sorry, I spaced out,"

Eren smiled and waved his hand, a gesture that means he didn't mind it at all. "But seriously, you've been spacing out a lot. Are you sure you're fine."

"Yes…yeah I think so. No, I'm good actually. By the way, where are they?" he asked when he saw that they were the only ones left in the hall.

"If you're talking about Levi's Squad, they already down in the dungeon, and so should the two of us," Eren said, starting to make his way to the door. Looking back at his slightly confused comrade, he added, "We should be going,"

"Why, Eren?" Armin asked, following his friend out of the door towards the hallway. Then they made a sharp turn to their right where a narrow passageway was located. Passing through it, Eren said, "Hanji said she's finally awake. According to her, she's still groggy though…"

' _She.'_

"…but Captain Levi wants to start the interrogation right away."

"The woman from the tower," Armin said, making Eren look back at him. "The woman from the tower, I've never seen anyone in such a tortured state like that."

Clueless as he looks, the fact was Eren understood his friend a lot more that what his words can tell. He knew that Armin was disturbed the first time he saw him after they had retrieved the ' _package_ ' and somewhat was spacing to comfort him, he put a hand on his friend's shoulder and said, "It'll be fine. The moment it's proven that she tells us why she's put in a coffin, it'll be okay."

But Armin knew better. Nothing will be okay.

Turning to another passageway, it was only a few steps until they reached the staircase descending at least twelve feet. "But I really don't get it why when Hanji was treating her wounds, Commander Erwin personally asked for Levi's Squad to guard them," Eren said as they made their way down the stairs.

"They suspected her to be a shifter like you, Eren," Armin darkly said, making the said shifter stopped in his tracks.

"Oi, you half-assed brats," came the voice the both of them didn't want to hear that very moment. "How long do you plan to make us wait in this stinking room?"

Upon hearing the dirty mouth of their captain, both boys quickened their pace until they arrived at the deepest part of the underground dungeon, where Mikasa, Historia, Connie, Sasha who was munching a potato again, and Jean were lined up on the wall where a meter away a torch was lit badly illuminating the stinking room.

"You both really fucked your time, damn brats." From the darkest side of the room Eren could make out Levi's form. He was leaning on the wall, his left foot resting on the horizontal iron bars protruding from the wall, his right hand twirling a hunter's knife while his eyes remained close. "Were you taking a shit, Eren, but fucking shit won't come out?"

Eren fidgeted. No matter how he behaves himself, it seemed that their captain has the hobby of incorporating his name in all of his intimidating and sarcastic words. "Uh, …"

"Like I fucking care," Levi cut him, balancing the hunting knife's blade at the tip of his index finger. He then emerged from his position and faced the cell, eyes glinting with malice. "I hope you enjoy your nap, whore. I was really getting tired of waiting for you to wake up. Did you have a nice dream? I hope so. Cause today your nightmare begins."


	4. She Who Slept Through Time

Disclaimer: A big, fat NO.

"In this place, it's my orders and my orders alone. I ask the questions, you give me fucking good answers. Got it?" Levi awaited no answer and asked again. "Who the fuck are you?"

All the members of the current Levi's Squad remained silent and waited for what seemed like eternity. Sweat lining his brows, Connie, with crossed fingers behind his back, wished that the woman would just answer their Captain's queries and just get it over with, without pissing Levi big time, for in Connie's point of view, it's much sweeter to get eaten by a Titan that to face the wrath of the Captain.

"Talk, whore," again, Historia heard him. Just how or what she did to be amongst the chosen ones for the new Levi's Squad she did not dare ask. With the situation they were in, Annie being the Female-Type Titan, to the truth that the Walls protecting them were made of Titans, it made sense to her the pressure it is tolling Levi. Though as cool and as dirty mouthed as he is, Historia knows that what's inside the Humanity's Strongest Soldier's head are things even she cannot fathom. That's why she dared not ask a single thing.

"I know of other methods to make someone talk. Shall we try it?" Levi asked, looking hard at the woman whose gaze was down on the blanket covering her bruised body. "So far you've been fucking lucky it was shitty four eyes who attended to you,"

Still, the woman remained silent, irking Levi. "You know, I can look you dead in your face while you're talking, and not fucking hear a damn thing you say. But we need answers,"

Still, no answer nor movements.

"Do it," Levi commanded, sitting himself comfortably on the stool in front of the cell. "I prefer live shows,"

Armin felt Jean heaved a deep sigh and walked towards Levi, while Mikasa fiddled with the lock. Then he saw their captain handed Jean what looked like one of Hanji Zoe's precious syringe.

"Ca…Captain," Armin hastily said, hands trembling with nervousness. "Is it really necessary to drug her? She might get knocked down again,"

"We don't have the time, brat. It's either she talk or I make her talk. Oi, Jean, stop being a sissy and do it," he added when he noticed Jean hesitating to take the syringe.

"Let's go," they heard the creaking of the prison gate and Mikasa stepped inside, quietly walking behind the unmoving woman and quickly putting her in a deadlock grip. "Jean, hurry,"

Jean, swallowing the thug of his conscience, quickly took the syringe in Levi's hand and got beside the woman, pulled the cap of the needle and aimed it on her bare arm, when the woman spoke quietly _. 'Stop'_

"Oh, you have last words? Fine by me. Let's hear it, but after that, don't expect a damn funeral service" Levi sneered. "Jean,"

Jean caught the words and stepped aside, Mikasa still not letting go of the woman.

" _Stop them. Please stop them,"_ It was rather in a whisper; thankfully the underground dungeon was quiet that everyone managed to hear her voice. _"Please tell them. Please tell them,"_

"Captain, I think she's lost her…"

"Quiet," Levi said, making Eren shut his mouth. "What are you blabbering about, whore?"

" _Stop them. Stop them please,"_ the woman sobbed _. "Just stop them. Save Shiganshina,"_

Upon hearing the name of the place, Eren, out or sheer curiosity, walked toward the cell, hands gripping the iron bars separating him and the woman. "What did you just say?"

But the woman only repeated herself. " _Stop them. Stop them please. Just stop them. Save Shiganshina,"_

"Oi, are you saying that there are still people in Shiganshi…"

"That's a fucked up thinking, Eren," Levi deadpanned, slightly tilting his head to the Titan shifter's direction. "You saw it with your fucking eyes, right? How Wall Maria was breached, and how your hometown, Shiganshina fell to the Titans." Then his eyes wandered inside the cell to Mikasa, who remained vigilant in her grip on the woman. "You both know it,"

"No! Please!" The woman, for the first time since her 'retrieval' shouted, jerking her rather weak body towards Eren, who stood outside the cell with a look of disbelief in his eyes. Mikasa tightened her grip but the woman trashed and tried to wriggle her body free, while sobbing, "Please, save them! I saw it. Before the sun hit its peak, the Wall will be breached! Please, you can still make it!"

"STOP IT!"

Everyone fell silent and their eyes fell on Jean, hands now clutching the neck of the woman's dress shirt. Shaking with rage, he felt his jaw harden as he looked at the woman, who in return also looked at him straight in the eye. "Please,"

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP, BITCH!" Jean bellowed, hand shaking with rage, tightening his grip, almost choking the woman. It wasn't Jean's nature to lay a hand on the weaker sex. Hell, he's not Levi. But with the memories of the fall of Wall Maria, together with their comrades getting eaten in front of him still vivid in his mind, he let his suppressed emotions resurfaced. "Do you know that Wall Maria, that Shiganshina is no more a place fit for humans, but it had become a playground for those damn Titans?!"

"Jean, stop it," Armin said, rushing inside the cell. "You're choking her," he added, trying to pry away Jean's hands.

"Isn't it much better that me breaking her neck?" Levi said, watching the _'show'_ inside the cell. "Oi, fucker, you better stop blabbering…"

"THE COLLOSAL TITAN WILL LEAVE A HOLE ON THE WALL! YOU'VE GOT TO STOP…"

"STOP IT ALREADY! THE WALL WAS ALREADY BREACHED FOUR YEARS AGO!" Eren bursted, irritated in the turn of events that was unfolding in front of his eyes. Steadying his breathing from his sudden outburst, Eren turned to Jean and said, "Let her go, Jean."

Jean followed, slowly letting the shaking woman sink on the bed and Mikasa also let her go.

"Captain?"

"What is it?" Levi answered, not bothering to look at the recruit. "Spit it, Armin,"

Face contorted with confusion, Armin's looked on all of his Squad mates, and then to their captain, whose was now sporting a very irritated look, then to the woman who seemed lost in thought, then back to their captain. "Captain Levi, can I ask her a direct question?"

"You've been doing all you want since the beginning, damn brats. Why are you asking now?" Levi coldly replied. There was a long pause, with only the sound of Sasha's swallowing of her food can be heard. "Ask away," after a minute Levi told Armin.

Wasting no time before Levi change his mind, Armin looked at the woman. "Hey, what year is today?" he asked, much to the surprised and puzzled look of the other recruits. "Armin, are you serious…" Connie could only say as Levi cut him.

"Answer the question, whore,"

"Hey, can you tell me what year is today?" Armin asked again, much to Jean's annoyance. It was as though Armin was beginning to act like a certain Squad leader that he know and as if Armin was channeling that leader's spirit. "Oi, Armin, we're not fooling around…"

"845,"

"What did you said?" Jean asked, looking incredulously at the woman beside him.

"Today is 845," the woman repeated.

"I see," Armin could only say, nodding in understanding. Then he looked at Levi, silently asking for permission to talk.

Deciding it best, Levi nodded for Armin to go on. Pissed as he was, he wasn't that stupid not to notice that it was the first time the woman answered like any normal human being, not thrashing nor showing any sign of hostility. Motioning for Mikasa and Jean to get out of the cell, he threw everyone except for Armin a _'Quiet, shitty brats'_ look.

"Hey, what are your last recollections?" Armin asked, hoping against hope that they can at least have some decent answers. "If you can remember that today is year 845, then what are your recollections before we _found you unconscious?"_ It was a big fat lie. They did not found her unconscious. It was tipped to them and she was retrieved. She wasn't just unconscious; she was sedated and put to sleep.

Everyone watched as the woman slowly put her hands on her head, as if trying to recall the past hours that she was unconscious. "I…I saw a man," the woman started, slightly shaking her head.

"You saw a man?" Connie asked dumbfound, squinting his eyes towards the woman.

"What are you, a fucking record keeper? Fuck your mouth, brat," Levi snapped at Connie, without taking his eyes away from the woman.

"And then?" Armin plowed on, catching the Captain's sign to continue with the questions.

"I…I don't know. Everything went dark," the woman whispered.

"Tche. That was fucking helpful," Levi said, not pleased with the woman's answer. "We wasted enough time." He was about to stand up when he heard the woman spoke.

"You…all of you were lying, right?" the woman's voice was trembling when she spoke. "Wall Maria hasn't been breached, right."

"I am a survivor from Shiganshina," Armin answered. "Four years ago, the Wall was breached."

"No, that can't be…that's a lie," the woman said, laughing forcibly. "Hey you," the woman called to Mikasa. "He's lying, right? Tell me!"

"I was also a survivor from Shiganshina," Mikasa timidly said, looking uninterested.

"BUT I WARNED THEM!"

The woman's statement caught Levi. Standing from where he was seated, he walked near the iron cell and glared at the woman. "You warned who about what?"

Levi's question seemed to hit something on the woman. She looked at Armin who was a meter away from her, then to the scowling man behind the iron bars, opening and closing her mouth, then shaking her head, opening and closing it again.

"You warned them about the Wall getting breached, right?" Armin guessed, leveling his sight with the woman's, to which he received a nod. "How did you know that the Wall will get breached?"

The woman's hands that were clutching her head fell on the bed. "I…I don't know. But I just know that I have to warn the people,"

"But…"

"Fuck." Levi cursed, making Armin jerk and the woman hitched a breath. Looking at the woman with bloodlust in his eyes, he spoke in a venomous voice. "You fucking want to know what happened, whore?"

His prisoner just stare at him blankly, mouth slightly agape. "You knew beforehand that those damn Titans will have a fucking party at Shiganshina and you try to warn them. Unfortunately, you ran to the wrong person who seemed to have a shit for those creatures and he knocked you down. Oh, if I haven't told you, you've been fucking for four years."

Levi's Squad had left a couple of hours ago, but her head was still throbbing with pain. Clutching it with both hands, she tightly closed her eyes and tried to process everything she had been told. _"You knew beforehand that those damn Titans will have a fucking party at Shiganshina and you try to warn them. Unfortunately, you ran to the wrong person who seemed to have a shit for those creatures and he knocked you down. Oh, if I haven't told you, you've been fucking for four years."_

" _Four years," she whispered, lifting her head to look at the bite marks in her wrist and fingers. "Four years."_


	5. The Crest of The Ackermans

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Not even the crest, though it really exists! The Coat of Arms of The Ackermans was first found in Dorset where they were anciently seated as Lords of the Manor.**

"If my hunch is correct, they will be striking at any given time to take her back."

Levi snorted. "We don't need _'any given time'_ ; we want something precise."

Erwin sighed. He stared at Levi who was seated in front of his table, sipping tea, and then back to the report he was reading. "She knew of the breaching that was about to happenand she was intentionally put to sleep by the Wallists four years ago…"

"Or, by some people hiding behind their damn pants. Those idiots can do nothing but shit their asses," Levi dryly said. "That's what we can make up with her stories so far."

 _The man she said she remembered_. Erwin closed his eyes and thought hard. He knew that there's plenty of information that can still be acquired from the woman in the dungeon; they just have to wait. But, until when? Levi told him that after talking to her, they left her and then when he came back for his _'personal'_ interrogation, the woman wouldn't wake up. "You said that she did gained consciousness before we retrieved her, Levi." It wasn't a question rather a confirmation.

Putting down his now empty cup, Levi looked at him warily. "Shitty four eyes agreed with me based on the bite mark's age. Maybe, three or four days before we found her. The drug's still in her body."

"Let's just hope that she gains, if not all, at least some of her memories when she wakes up," Erwin tiredly said.

"Damn right, we're not a fucking inn," Levi replied, standing up and walking towards the door. Twisting the knob, he shot one last look at his commander and sneered, "I'll have my answers, or I'll fuck the living daylights out of her."

Three days had quickly passed after Levi's Squad went to the dungeon. And three days had also passed since the woman went into a deep slumber. Hibernation if you asked Levi. _Damn. She's still into that shit! Haven't she had enough for four years?_ That is, if she did was put to sleep for four years, which, for him seemed far fetch. There's a lot of gaping holes in her stories. Why was she put to sleep? They could've just got rid of her for good, avoiding situations like what they are now in. And isn't it more convenient if she just transformed in her Titan form rather that calling for help, if she is a shifter. She could've at least, if not everything, prevented some casualties. And the bigger question in his head was, how did she know that Wall Maria was going to get breached four years ago?

Titan power. That was the only reasonable thing Levi could come up. Just like Eren, whom everyone wanted to get their hands to, it could be the reason why she wasn't killed but was carefully hidden. That would explain the bite marks. But, he saw it with his own eyes that the woman didn't act like a shifter when they confronted her, and while the gloomy brat was holding her, trapping her in her vice-like grip. She did have the chance to transform but, the only thing the woman seemed to care about that time was the breaching of Wall Maria.

"Shit," he muttered in annoyance, kicking his office door opened.

"Levi, I was waiting for you,"

"What are you doing here?" He asked irritably, making his way inside his room. "If you want some Titan shit, fuck yourself." Making himself comfortable in his chair, he began fiddling with his paper works.

"Hey, you know why I'm her, right?" Hanji asked seriously, eyes fixed on his bored face.

"Not, at all. Actually I was wondering who I shit today to receive a visit from you," Levi mocked, earning a stupid smile on the Squad Leader's face. "I'm not going Titan hunting,"

Hanji laughed. "You really think that's just the only thing I have in mind?"

"Yes, I do," Levi deadpanned.

Shaking her head and collecting herself after her sudden fit, she picked up a dagger lying on top of Levi's table. "This is a beautifully, crafted dagger, and you just use it as paper weight."

"It would be a damn problem if the whole room becomes a fucking papier-mâché,"

She just let his comment slide out of her ears and concentrated in his paper weight. She held it on her gaze' level and her eyes rested on the meticulously design found in the handle. "I know you know what I mean," Hanji meaningfully said, twisting the dagger so that the designed part was now facing the corporal.

"Don't get excited over a simple shit, shitty four eyes," Levi snapped, suddenly pulling Hanji's hand, taking away the dagger and throwing it inside his drawer before he slammed it shut. "The design does fit the casket though,"

"I-asked-the-girl-a-bout-it," Hanji sang, much to Levi's annoyance. "I know you wanted to know her reaction, Levi so I'll tell you. She said the crest was familiar. She cannot remember where or when but Mikasa was convinced that she had seen that crest before,"

Levi sighed and put down the document he was currently reading. "We share the same name; we both experienced feeling the sudden gush of force inside that would make anyone strangle the person near them. Does her knowing of the crest still a fucking big deal?"

"And don't forget that you share the same trait. Both of you are gloomy," Hanji joked.

"Get out," Levi flatly said, tearing his eyes away from the bespectacled woman and going back to his work.

A couple of minutes have passed until Hanji spoke again. "Hey, Levi," she began

"Oh, I thought you already shit yourself out, four eyes," Levi replied, not looking at her.

"There is one thing that you should know about the woman," Hanji seriously said, making Levi arched a brow.

"You fucking have half of my attention."

"My team was the one who attended to her when we brought her here, right?"

"I don't need stupid people stating the obvious," Levi shot.

"But," she continued, unfazed by Levi's _politeness._ "I checked her body for injuries and I found a mark, no, a brand on her nape."

"Pigs are branded nowadays to show ownership,"

"So you think that this particular symbol is nothing but a brand for animals?" Hanji said, pulling a piece of paper from her breast pocket. She unfolded it and spread it on Levi's table, where a roughly sketch of a particular crestcaught the corporal's full attention. "The crest on you dagger, Mikasa's conviction that she have seen this symbol somewhere before, and the casket. And now, it's the brand on the woman. They are all the same. They all have the crest of the Ackermans."

They both fell in silence until Hanji spoke again. "It's a possibility that she's also an Ackerman,"

"I already know two; a brat who likes to fuck things by herself and the other one, a complete fucker," Levi hissed, when Kenny Ackerman crossed his thought. "So you want to add a crazy banshee in the company? How fucking lucky can I get,"

"But, but Levi, everyone knows that the Ackerman family was once persecuted…"

"Yeah, for damn reasons until now I don't fucking know," Levi hotly retorted, hands gripping the poor paper Hanji showed him.

"That's what I'm trying to say, Levi," Hanji bellowed. "The Ackerman family was persecuted, but why was she kept sedated and alive?"

"The fuck I care!"

"No, Levi. I think the existence of the Ackerman family has something to do with it. You have abilities superior to others, even to Erwin, and I know you noticed it too in the girl. Her abilities surpassed her peers. If that woman is also an Ackerman, there is a possibility that she also possesses some kind of ability,"

"Like sleeping for four years straight?" Levi sneered.

"Like being able to see the future," Hanji said. "That possibility would explain why she wasn't killed. The people who know her existence and ability can us her for their own…"

"Like knowing beforehand that the Wall was going to be breached so they can prepare and hide their asses." Levi menacingly said, handing back the paper to Hanji. "What did Erwin said?"

"Actually, I haven't talk to him about this," she said to which she received a scowl. "I was excited to see your reaction. So will you let me talk to her?"

"Do what you want, shitty four eyes," Levi flatly said, picking up the document he was reading earlier and resuming his work, signaling the end of their conversation.

Hanji's smile was ear to ear as the corporal finally gave her permission to meet the woman who slept for four years. She then stood up and walked towards the door and opened it, only to look back when she was half way outside the well-kept room. "The only people who are aware of the crest aside from us are Mikasa, Erwin, and Dot Pixis."

"Baldy? Oh, he was the one with the key."

"He noticed the crest when he saw the casket's cover. Good day, captain," and she was gone.

Hearing the closing of the door and bespectacled leader's footsteps thinning in the air, Levi sighed. "Finally, some quiet time…"

"HOY, SASHA, GIVE THAT BREAD BACK, YOU THIEF!"

"I'M NOT A THIEF! THAT WAS RUDE, JEAN!"

"HOY, YOU TWO, QUIET! CAPTAIN LEVI WILL HEAR…"

"Too bad, fucktards. You caught me in a fucking mood," Levi leered as he emerged out of his office where he found Jean wrestling Sasha on the floor, trying to take the bread the latter was shielding with her petite frame. "Oi,"

The two recruits froze from where they were on the floor and Eren began sweating profusely. Jean slowly looked up and swallowed a lump in his throat when he saw Levi's sadistic face. "Ca…captain Levi,"

"Damn brats,"

From that day on, Sasha Blouse learned not to steal bread from the kitchen when the captain is working.


	6. Escape at Twilight

Disclaimer: Shingeki no Kyojin belongs to Isayama Hajime.

"What are you going to do to me?"

Hearing footsteps nearing and stopping before her cell, the woman lifted her beady eyes to see who her visitor that day was.

"Erm…," Armin stuttered. "We are going out. Here, I brought you a change of clothes," he said, placing a pair of neatly folded shirt and pants on the stool near the iron bars.

"Those are soldier uniforms," the woman commented, her eyes not leaving Armin. "Are you that really cautious in hiding my existence that you need me to disguise myself as one of your members given it's the dead of the night?"

Armin averted his gaze from the woman's tired, but sharp eyes. "Please just do as I say, Miss. We need to get going before sunrise."

"Bath,"

"Huh?"

"Bath. I need a bath," the woman steadily said, now using her hands to detangle her messy hair. "My hair is so heavy and my I'm still aching all over. Maybe at least I can take one to freshen up."

"But, but…" Armin failed to come up with words. Yes, he can say that the state the woman was in isn't something a woman should be in. Her clothes were ripped everywhere with blood drips for designs, her skin were full of scratches, Armin deduced from Levi's dragging and throwing her body, and her hair which fall past her rear were full of tangles and damages. A little bath won't kill, Armin thought. But a certain dirty mouthed corporal will surely kill him.

"Let me handle this. You go and prepare your gear and help fill up some gas," from behind him came Squad Leader Hanji Zoe's voice. "Sorry for waking you this early, but we need to go somewhere."

"Squad Leader Hanji," Armin saluted. "Captain Levi has strict orders th…"

"At ease, Armin," Hanji said, looking at the boy saluting to her with all his might. "I already talked to Levi last day. Just leave everything to me and go,"

"Yes, ma'am," Armin replied.

Minutes after Armin's footsteps cannot be heard anymore, Hanji spoke again. "You'll have a bath but you need to tell us them thing,"

"I just took a short nap and when I woke up the bath already has a price tag," the woman told herself, still detangling her hair, and accidentally pulling hard on a difficult knot which caused the hair to slit. "Ouch, that hurts."

"Tell us your name."

"My name?"

 _Two hours later…_

"Damn four eyes, she's fucking late. The moment I get my hands on her, she's as good as Titan feed." Levi cursed, adjusting his grip on his horse' reigns. "Listen up, you shitty brats," he said, eyes straight forward on the gate that will soon open for them. "Keep on your damn places and no shitting around. There is only one goal; to reach that place before the sun rise. Fucking mess this up and I'll fuck the living shit out of you."

"Yes, Captain," the members of Levi's Squad mounted on their horses, chorused.

"My, my! I see everyone is excited about this!" Hanji exclaimed, arriving and walking towards the grumpy captain. "Good morning Levi. Today's a nice night for Titan hunting, isn't it?"

"Quit fucking around. Where is _that_?" Levi spat, narrowing his eyes on the squad leader in front of him.

Smiling broadly, Hanji pointed to a figure leaning quietly on the stone walls with her eyes closed.

"Isn't that Mikasa?" Jean asked, squinting his eyes for a better view.

""Mikasa is here, Jean," Connie answered, tapping Jean by the shoulder and moving his eyeballs to where Mikasa was.

 _The woman in the dungeon! Eren thought. But she really does look like Mikasa, only a little shorter than her. He then looked at his friend for a reaction, but found her ever faithful poker face plastered on. She really doesn't care._

Satisfied with the surprised looks on the squad's face, Hanji turned to Levi in the hope of seeing the same look, but found the corporal's eyes locked on the gates. "Hey, Levi, aren't you gonna say something?"

"Jean, lead the flank, followed by Eren and Connie," Levi barked his orders. "Historia, Armin, four eyes, Sasha, do not fall three horses away. Mikasa, we'll ride with _that_. I don't need you messing around. If you need to, kill."

"Yes," Mikasa replied timidly, readying her horse.

"Y'know, she does have a name, not just _'that'_!" Hanji argued, much to Levi's irritation, but decided to drop the topic. She then approached the woman and smiled. "He's just like that, but he's really good. See, he prepared a spare horse for you," Hanji said, ushering her to the direction of the corporal where a spare black horse was waiting. "Go, I got your back,"

"Are your ears also that bad? You're moving in front of us, four eyes," Levi snapped, throwing a disinterested look on the woman.

"Thank you, Miss Hanji," the woman said as she approached the horse, avoiding Levi's gaze.

"Uhm, careful, that horse a while ago did…' Eren didn't manage to finish his warning when the woman put her right foot on the horse's side and lifted herself with ease, mounting the horse without getting thrown.

"Ohh, you're the first to ride that horse!" Sasha squealed. "Seems that horse dislikes everyone but you, Miss...,"

"Eve," the woman finished. "My name is Eve. Ackerman Eve."

"Hmm, that's a beautiful name, Eve. I hope…"

"Enough. We wasted enough damn time. We're going out," Levi cut her. "Oi, keep your horse between me and that gloomy brat. Try something stupid and I'll cut you myself, got it?"

"…" was Eve's response.

"About damn time," Levi muttered through gritted teeth as the gate in front of them opened. He nudged his horse sharply, making it kick its hind legs hardly on the dirt, galloping away like the rest of the squad. Spearing the formation was Jean, with Eren and Connie on the left and right, falling a horse away. Then they were followed by Armin, Hanji, Historia and Sasha, who in his utter irritation, was eating again, but nonetheless keeping tight formation. "Keep your fucking speed, shitty four eyes," Levi barked, noticing Hanji purposely reducing her speed to be able to ride on her horse side by side with Eve. Hanji smiled stupidly, mouthing a _'sorry'_ then speeding away to go back into formation. ' _Acting like a damn brat,'_ he thought. Then he turned his head to his right and saw that Eve was keeping in track, with Mikasa by the other side. ' _Now there are two glommy brats I need to handle. Fuck.'_

"Where are you taking me?" Eve suddenly asked, catching her breath. Her now shoulder length hair was flying in all directions as they slashed through the night wind.

"Does it matter if you know?" Levi spat, eyes now in front, but from time to time he would check on her. "Prisoners aren't allowed to ask damn questions. They just give fucking answers when asked."

Eve decided to just keep silent and focused on the trail ahead, much to Levi's favor. They kept going on and on for hours and hours, not a single word coming out from their mouth, only the thud and the horses' neigh as they gallop can be heard. Since Titans are inactive during the night, Levi decided, with Erwin's approval that their prisoner, Eve, would be transferred to their secret hideout when night time falls, that no other people are allowed to see her, for they both believed that there are still spies inside the Legion, and that they can't be that careless. Now that the woman revealed that her name is really Ackerman, like Hanji Zoe deduced, Levi thought that it was a good decision that they came up with this plan. And he was damn sure that Eve Ackerman is a very important chess piece.

It was also to avoid unwanted casualties. The current Levi's Squad consists of brats, although they are the best of the idiots and the cowards that joined the 104th Trainee Recruits, Levi wouldn't have anyone but them, for they have already proven themselves worthy of his trust, but still falls short in his cleaning standards.

"We're nearing the clearing," from the front he heard Jean yelled, as they cut themselves out of the deep forest.

"Keep your guard up, brats," Levi commanded, hands tightening their hold in the reigns. "Oi, stay close," he then said to Eve. When he heard no response, he looked sideways and saw that the woman he addressed was wiping her bleeding forehead. Arching a brow, he looked at his other companion.

"A tree branch she didn't noticed," Mikasa answered his silent query, eyes still straight on her trail.

' _Tch,'_ Levi thought as he once again focused on his way ahead. They were only a couple of hundred meters away from the clearing when he heard Eve.

"Stop the horses,"

"What are you say…"

"JUST STOP THE HORSES! THERE'S AN AMBUSH WAITING FOR US!" Eve shouted, looking horrified at Levi. "ORDER THEM TO STOP NOW OR ELSE THE ONE LEADING THE FLANK'S GONNA GET KILLED!"

It was a warning that took Levi just seconds to register before he signaled Mikasa, who then fired a signal, which upon reaching its peak in the sky, flashed a yellow, bright light.

"A stop signal? What happened?" Connie said as he slow his pace, looking up on the sky.

"Hey, Jean, stop now!" Eren shouted to Jean who was already three horse' pace away.

"Huh, what…" was all they heard from him until they saw him losing control of his horse, galloping in an unknown direction until it disappeared out of sight.

"JEAN!" Eren shouted, kicking his horse to where Jean's horse disappeared.

"Eren, no!" Connie yelled, following the shifter as they broke their formation and galloped to search for Jean. They went straight ahead where the looming trees where particularly thick that the moonlight cannot pass through. "Shit, what was that?" Connie hissed, straining his ears in hopes that somehow they can figure where Jean was.

"Over there," Eren said, urging his horse to turn to the noise' direction.

"It's Just his horse. But where is he?" Connie asked, looking left and right.

 _Whoosh._

They heard a familiar sound filling the chilly air, the sound of the strings of the 3DMG stretching in the air, and a couple of seconds later, they saw a cloaked figure twisting in mid-air, blade glinting maliciously in the moonlight, ready for the kill, aiming for them.

"NOOO!"

It was as though Connie's life flashed through his mind. All the things that transcended through his life until that time replayed themselves in his head as the sharp blade made its way through the air towards his waiting neck. It was too fast that all he could do was close his eyes and wait for the inevitable as he remain frozen in his stead.

But it never came, and all he heard was the sound of blade hitting blade. He then opened his eyes to find the blade only inches from his throat, being pushed away by Mikasa's blade in her 3DMG.

"Jean's unconscious a couple of meters to the right where his horse was standing earlier. Get away from here, quick," Mikasa told him, glaring venomously at the striker whose identity was concealed with a cloak. "Eren, quick," she told Eren as she dodged a kick aimed to her gut and maneuvered through the air, throwing a blade at the hooded striker, making it fall back.

Reading the situation, Eren pulled Connie out of his stupor. "Connie, let's get Jean and let's get out of here,"

But the striker wasn't intending to allow them escape. It withdrew its strings and dove to where Eren was coercing a shocked Connie to move.

"No, you don't," Mikasa hissed as she also dove to the ground, blocking the striker's way. "Your opponent is me," she menacingly said, pulling another set of fresh blades.

The striker was about to attack her when they heard hooves nearing them. Realizing that the striker would be outnumbered, it fired its strings up on the biggest tree, turned its head to Eren's direction, who also looked back, then to Mikasa, who seemed half frustrated that their fight was going to get postponed. Then the striker wasted no time and maneuvered in the air, escaping in the dead of the night.

"Eren, at last we found you!" It was Armin, arriving with Levi, together with a tear streaked faced Eve. "What happened?" he asked when he saw Mikasa with her blades and a pale Connie.

"He just met with Death," Mikasa timidly said, sheathing her blades and approaching Eren. "Are you okay, Eren?"

"I'm okay, Mikasa. But Connie…"

It happened in a blur. Levi suddenly kicked the shocked recruit, making him fall from his horse, which thanks to Eren, managed to get a quick grip on the reigns, or it may have galloped away. "Oi, get your fucked up brains together. You're still fucking breathing, no detached bones, unlike the one over there,"

"Jean," Eren muttered. "What happened to him?"

"Save that for later, brat. We need to get him out of here,"

A broken rib. A deep slash on the right leg. He'll live," Hanji said, changing Jean's bandages. "Still, we should be thankful that Mikasa arrived at the right time, or else not just Jean, but…"

"Shut the fuck up, four eyes. The brat needs sleep. You're fucking noisy." Levi said, leaning in the wall as he studied the state of the sleeping recruit.

They managed to reach the abandoned building that was the secret headquarters of Levi's Squad before the break of dawn. That time Levi with Eve, because he needs to keep her in check, speared the formation with Eren right behind them with the unconscious Jean tide securely on his back. Mikasa and Sasha, with her bow and arrows, vigilantly watched their surroundings as they galloped for their comrade's life. Armin and Historia kept Connie in tight check, while Hanji volunteered to secure the rear.

"Eve. Did she know that there was an ambush before the start?" Hanji said, securing the bandage on Jean's leg. Careful not to hurt the peacefully sleeping recruit, she quietly gathered up the medicine kit the headquarters have and sighed. "Or was it like how she said she just know about the breaching of Wall Maria four years ago?"

"Your guess is as fucked up as mine, four eyes," Levi replied. "It seems she has a power to see the future."

"But," Hanji argued quietly. "But if she really has that kind of ability, why just warn us on the high of the moment?"

"The shit I know, shitty four eyes. Why don't you ask her yourself? You made her tell us her fucking name after all," Levi sneered.

"Everything has a price, after all," Hanji snickered, making Levi arched a brow. "A bath is a perfect example."

"That's stupid,"

"No, really! And it comes with a haircut, too,"

"Fuck off, four eyes,"

"Uhh…"

Both leaders turned to the now awaked recruit.

"Yes, Jean, what do you want? Where does it hurt Jean boy?" Hanji asked, imitating Jean's mother, making Jean cringed.

"Of course it hurts everywhere, fucktard," Levi sneered.

"Uhh…can you please take your bickering outside?"

 _You're damn lucky you're bedridden, horse face,_ Levi thought. He then made his way outside the room, and to the dining hall where the other recruits were talking about what happened earlier that day.

"Where's Eve?" Levi asked, eyeing them irritably.

"She's in the dungeon, Captain, just like you said," Armin replied.

"Stay alert, brats. I want you to inform me as soon as possible any abnormalities you found," Levi ordered, making his way out of the hall.

"Uhm, Captain, may we know where are you going?" Eren asked.

"I'm having a private shit with her. I DON'T WANT DISTURBANCES. INCLUDING THAT SHITTY FOUR EYES," he said, stressing each words, as he disappeared out of the door.

"Someone get me some earplugs," Historia whined, hands automatically making their way to cover up her ears.


End file.
